The truth is that Tolstoy, with his immense genius, with his colossal faith, with his vast fearlessness and vast knowledge of life, is deficient in one faculty and one faculty alone. He is not a mystic; and therefore he has a tendency to go mad. Men talk of the extravagances and frenzies that have been produced by mysticism; they are a mere drop in the bucket. In the main, and from the beginning of time, mysticism has kept men sane. The thing that has driven them mad was logic. ...The only thing that has kept the race of men from the mad extremes of the convent and the pirate-galley, the night-club and the lethal chamber, has been mysticism - the belief that logic is misleading, and that things are not what they seem.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The author argues that Tolstoy lacks mysticism, which they claim keeps men sane, suggesting logic alone can drive people to madness.
- In plain terms
- Tolstoy is great but lacks mysticism, which the author believes prevents madness more than logic does.
- What can you take from it?
- Mysticism may offer balance to pure logic and prevent extreme thinking.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Does logic lead to extremism?
- What keeps society sane?
Another view
The claim that logic drives madness is controversial and subjective.
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